MARION — Lexi Lord, a soon-graduating senior at Old Rochester Regional High School, had never used oil paint before. 

Yet after having taken AP Art this year, Lord now has oil paintings displayed inside Uncle Jon’s Coffee in Marion.

A reception was held there Wednesday, May 29 presenting the works of students in the AP Art and honors art courses at Old Rochester.

Nine students each contributed three pieces for the show, according to art teacher Kate Butler. 

The exhibit featured a “range of different styles and mediums” and “allows students to use art as a visual language to communicate their ideas that reflect their personalities and interests,” Butler said.

Lord’s two oil paintings represented birth and youth. A third painting not on display representing death completed the set, according to Lord.

She said she was “really happy” with the artwork and that it was “cool to see the progress.”

“I decided to go big and see what I could do,” she said. 

The advanced art courses are very self-directed, according to Butler.

Students choose the theme and medium of their pieces; the reception at Uncle Jon’s featured an eclectic arrangement of artwork.

Tyler Chick, a senior planning to attend the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, said he was “trying out a different technique” with each of his three pieces on display.

The works used watercolor as a foundation but also contained mixed media, according to Chick. 

One piece was in part inspired by a reference picture of the medieval Ingush towers in Russia. Another illustrated the lore of a “goddess of fertility” within a pantheon.

Chick said he’s “growing into the artist” he wants to be.

The works presented during the reception were special because they helped him get to that point, he said.

“Part of my artistic journey,” he said.